Ruthie Tompson | |
Tompson at 104 | |
Birth: | 22 July 1910 Portland, Maine, United States |
Age: | 110 years, 187 days |
Country: | ![]() |
Unvalidated |
Ruthie Tompson (born 22 July 1910) is an American animator and supercentenarian. She is most well known for her work on animated features at The Walt Disney Company.
Biography
Ruthie Tompson was born on 22 July 1910 in Portland, Maine and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. She then moved with her family to Oakland, California in November 1918 at age eight. In 1924, her parents divorced and her mother, Arlene, remarried artist John Roberts. The family relocated to Los Angeles and their house was in the same block as the house of Robert Disney, uncle of Walt Disney. This is where Roy and Walt Disney lived when they first came to Los Angeles.
As she stated in an interview, Tompson first met the Disneys when she visited her neighbor Robert's new baby. The location of The Walt Disney Company, then known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, was not far from her home – she passed it on her way to grammar school. She was invited into the office after many times of standing outside and watching them work through the window. She visited the office often and ended up appearing in the Alice Comedies.
Gallery
References
- "Ruthie Tompson" - D23
- "102-Year-Old Hollywood Vet: Walt Disney Hired Me After I Snooped on His Studio" - The Hollywood Reporter.
- "Harvard Undergrad Receives Scholarship From 105-Year-Old Women in Animation Vet" - Variety.
- Disney Legend Ruthie Tompson Shares Memories Ahead of Her 110th Birthday Animation Magazine, 6 July 2020